Looking at Hermione
by LeQuin
Summary: Neville didn't mean to stare. He certainly didn't mean to cause any trouble. All he can do now is try to fix it.


**Disclaimer**

Harry Potter and all associated characters, locations and what not belong to J.K. Rowling and whoever she sells the rights to. I have borrowed these characters, locations and what not in order to mess around with them. In some cases I have lifted a piece of dialogue or scene directly from the books as a touchstone. I do not own anything except the plot and I am not making any money from this endeavor. This applies to the whole story.

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**AN: **Right, so here's another song-fic and goodness me did it give me hell to write this. Every time I started writing I would realise that no, this is terrible and I'm not putting it out. Then I would start over with a completely different premise. And that happened seven different times.

Still, I decided to do this fic (and the last one) so that I can work my way back into writing regularly. It's been good fun at any rate and I do feel like I've managed to find more time in my week to spend writing than I had a year ago.

I intend to join the Harmony & Co. Facebook group's Halloween competition and then see if I can't get back to the stories that I've left unattended for far too long.

Anyway, this fic was written as part of a challenge where you are presented with a line or two of song lyrics. The goal of the prompt is to focus on the snippet you're given rather than the song as a whole and write a Harmony fic (lyrics don't have to be included as a quote in the text). The lyrics I was given were:

_Lord I can't disguise the look inside my eyes  
The more I try to look away the more I'm staring _

-Cries in Vain by Bullet for My Valentine

Can't say that I'd recommend the song, as it's not really the kind of thing I'd usually listen to, but that's not the important thing here. The important thing is that I don't own the song any more than I own Harry Potter; all I did was use those two lines to inspire a quick fic, so here we go.

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"Neville, may I ask you something?"

Neville gulped at hearing that voice. It was a familiar voice, one he heard every day; one he was usually quite happy to hear actually. This was just not a good time for him to have to face Hermione Granger and to top it all off she sounded _curious_. Anyone could tell you that a curious Hermione was a determined Hermione and, if you got in her way, a dangerous Hermione.

"Neville?"

"Yes?"

_Great going, Longbottom. She definitely won't be suspicious if you squeak like that_ Neville snapped in the silence of his own mind.

"Neville, there is something going on with the sixth year Gryffindor boys... and you're going to tell me what it is."

"There's nothing going on, Hermione... honest."

Judging by the way Hermione's eyebrow cocked, Neville knew that he'd been less than convincing.

"Uh-huh." Hermione's arms crossed ominously. _Not good, not good... don't cave._

_Why did she have to pick me?_

Honestly, Neville knew why. He knew he was the weakest link of the sixth year boys and that Hermione was more than intelligent enough to have sussed that out. She also knew that he owed her a lot for all the times she'd helped him; there was only one other person he owed just as much to; and he'd somehow managed to find himself caught between those two loyalties.

"Why are all the Gryffindor boys suddenly _staring _at me?" Hermione's demanded, her voice only barely on the polite side of snapping.

"We're not-" Neville couldn't continue in the face of the glower he was currently being hit with. "Why aren't you taking this up with Harry or Ron?" If denial wouldn't work, he'd try distraction; anything but actually answering the question.

"Ron's up on his broom and refuses to come down and talk to me and Harry is the only one of you who _isn't _constantly looking me up and down." Hermione paused and frowned in concentration for a moment. "In fact, he's been keeping his eyes averted as much as the rest of you have been staring," she muttered.

Neville didn't think he was supposed to have heard that last bit. He was definitely convinced that it was a bad idea to let Hermione think along those lines, but he couldn't figure out how to get her off that particular path without landing himself in hot water. With a sigh his thoughts turned back to the previous night.

Ron had been showing off a bag of new prank sweets that his brothers had given him. In typical Fred and George fashion they had apparently refused to say what the candies would do if consumed, leaving Ron with only one way to find out what would happen.

Ron, Dean and Seamus had been all for trying it out on some first years. Neville had been reluctant at best. Unfortunately he had also been the lone voice of reason, and a rather quiet voice of reason at that. Neville remembered fervently wishing that Harry would get out of the shower already.

Ron might have been the boys' prefect for their year, but Neville had noticed that Harry's presence in a room did a lot more to remind people of exactly which boundaries they shouldn't cross than the redhead's did. It wasn't that Harry ever demanded that people listen to him or stop what they were doing, though considering the way most Gryffindors would listen to their Quidditch Captain over their prefects, he probably could have.

No, Harry just... exuded a presence. There was something about sitting in the same room as him that made you feel like everything would be alright. That feeling also became a little voice at the back of Neville's mind that whispered _don't be the problem he has to clean up_. He was sure other Gryffindors would know exactly what he meant if he ever got up the courage to describe the way his roommate made him feel.

Thankfully, almost as if he had heard Neville's desperate prayers, Harry had shown up just as the others had been planning to head down to put some nefarious plan into action. The other boy's messy hair had still been damp, but Harry had already pulled his muggle clothes on.

Neville had noticed that Harry never came out of the showers less than fully dressed. It was another one of those little incongruities, one of those habits that made Neville feel like Harry was out of step with the rest of the dorm. Merlin knew the others barely remembered to sling a towel around their waists before blearily looking for anything that didn't pong _too _badly that they could wear. It was also another one of those things Neville had never gotten up the nerve to talk about.

"Where are you guys going?" Harry had asked calmly, his eyes darting over his three roommates and noting the bag that was guiltily clutched in Ron's hand.

As Harry's best friend and the owner of the prank, Ron had silently and unanimously been designated the spokesman. "Ah... well, mate, Fred and George gave me something. We thought we'd try them out."

The way Harry had eyed the others had made Neville's heart soar with relief. "Anyone in particular?"

He had given them an out. Neville knew that if Ron had said 'Malfoy' or some other bully's name, Harry would probably have joined them in heading downstairs.

Ron however, seemed to have missed the change in Harry's expression and grinned at him. "Eh, just some firstie, I reckon. Whatever this does'll be temporary and harmless any way."

The way Harry's expression had hardened had told Neville that the Boy Who Lived might not entirely agree with that assessment. He had been surprised to see Harry stilling as if considering something though. "You're just trying to figure out what it is, right?"

"Of course, of course." Dean had jumped in smoothly. "Just a little trial run."

"Run it on me then."

You could have heard a pin drop in the boys' dorm. "Try it on you?" Ron had repeated in a stunned voice.

Harry's response had been a simple, assured nod. "I don't mind and then we'll know what we're dealing with."

Neville had cottoned on to what was happening almost immediately. While he wasn't as strident about it as Hermione, Harry had had a word with the Twins one evening about only testing their products on the third years and up.

Neville remembered the moment well. Just about everyone else had already gone to bed and only the four of them were in the common room. Harry had looked at him for a moment and nodded before starting in on Fred and George. It was a display of trust that had touched Neville deeply.

It had also left him with a perspective that his roommates didn't have. Harry wasn't going to allow that prank anywhere near a first year, not even Fred and George did that any more, and getting them to listen to him would have surely been more of a challenge to Harry than facing Ron, Seamus and Dean.

"Blimey, mate, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. What are we dealing with? Trap or sweet?"

"It's a sweet, but..." Ron trailed off uncomfortably. As far as Neville was concerned, Ron's reluctance to subject Harry to this prank should have informed him that trying in out on a firstie wasn't on. Harry had just held out one hand with an easy smile, the other still holding his towel. "If you're sure." Ron had relented fishing one of the candies out of the bag and handing it over.

Harry had inspected it for a moment before shrugging and cautiously popping into his mouth. He'd chewed on it for a few moments and then swallowed, leaving all five Gryffindors waiting expectantly for something to happen. Nothing did.

"Guess your brothers gave you a dud, Weasley." Seamus had snorted.

Ron could only scowl for a moment before realization had cleared his expression. "Wait! I think Fred said I was supposed to ask the person who ate it a question."

"What question?" Harry had wondered aloud, clearly trying to work out where this prank was going.

"I don't think it matters." Ron'd muttered with a similar expression on his face.

Seamus' grin had turned positively predatory when he heard Ron's words though. "Right, I've got one! Who's the sexiest girl in the school, Potter?"

Neville suspected he might have flinched back in horror when he saw Harry's face turn completely slack for a moment. In a toneless voice the Boy Who Lived had given an answer Witch Weekly would give their best printing press to get: "Hermione Granger."

For the second time in a matter of minutes, silence had enveloped the Gryffindor dorm. Four people were replaying the answer they had just heard over and over in their minds as they tried to make sense of it. The fifth looked like he was trying to blink himself back into reality.

Harry's face had turned so red that Neville wondered if his friend was about to pop something.

"Hermione?" Neville couldn't remember ever seeing Ron as stunned as he had been in that moment.

It turned out to be just the thing to galvanize Harry though. "Yes, 'Hermione'. Why shouldn't it be?"

"Well... I mean, c'mon, mate," Dean had protested as soothingly as he could. "You can't tell us that you expected us to see that one coming. Hermione's a lovely girl and all, but she's not, y'know... _hot_."

"Oh really? And I suppose you'd prefer someone like Susan Bones?" Harry had snarked, before whirling around and jabbing his finger at Seamus. "Parvati Patil." Ron was the next one on the end of Harry's piercing finger and tongue. "Lavender Brown." When that finger had swung around to him, Neville had entertained hiding under his bed as a serious option. "Hannah Abbott."

Neville had felt his heart seize in his chest as Harry associated him with his crush; the one Neville had been confident no one knew about. "How'd you find out?" he'd croaked out in horror.

Harry had deflated slightly at the question. "Those are the girls you guys stare at the most," he'd sighed out, dropping onto his bed. "It's pretty obvious those are the answers you'd give to the same question."

"Obvious?! Do you think she's noticed?!"

"Dunno, Nev. Hannah's not exactly blind or an idiot though, so I have to believe there's a chance."

Fighting to deal with the blow he'd just received, Neville had looked around at the others to see how they were coping. Dean and Seamus had looked uncomfortable with Harry's revelation to them. Even in the clear light of day though, Neville still couldn't figure out what the expression on Ron's face had been.

"So have you been staring at Granger this whole time?" Seamus had broken the silence.

"I hope not," Harry had shuddered. "She'd definitely have noticed... and slapped me I think." That had brought some much needed laughter, though it had felt as though they were simply doing their best to break the awkward mood.

"I still can't believe you said 'Hermione' though." Dean had marvelled.

"Yeah, well, I think that the Twins made something like a one-shot Veritaserum. The truth was out of my mouth before I could think twice about it, but the feeling went away as soon as I'd answered the question."

"Yeah, but Hermione?" Seamus had asked, sounding honestly confused. "I mean, she doesn't have a body like any of the girls you mentioned for us and add to that the hair and the teeth and the attitude..."

Harry had looked furious for a second before slumping with a sigh. "You haven't really looked at her in while then. She's not the little girl we met in first year anymore, guys. Her teeth've been dead straight since fourth year, her hair's calmed down a lot and as for her body... I'll admit she doesn't have huge knockers like Lavender or Susan, but what she does have is just... perfect."

Even Neville had joined in the snickers at the dreamy expression on his friend's face.

"And the attitude?" Dean had asked in the voice of one who already knows the answer.

Harry had apparently caught onto the fact that he was being teased and had shrugged in response. "You know, it never really bothered me. I kinda like it actually."

The snickers had turned into howls of laughter at that; at least until Ron had jumped up and angrily thrown himself into his bed, tugging the drapes shut with a harsh jerk of his wand. The action had rather thoroughly scrambled the building good mood.

"Ron...?" Harry had asked tentatively reaching for the closed curtains.

"Leave the man for now, Potter," Seamus had advised gently. "You just told him that you're in love with his best friend... how was he supposed to take that?"

"I didn't say I was in love."

"Harry, we all saw your face. If you're not in love with Hermione, no one is." Neville had surprised himself by speaking up like that and still felt guilty over causing that trout-slapped look to appear on Harry's face. He had tried to make amends by causing a distraction. "So... are we going to try asking Susan and Hannah on a double date?" he'd shot at Dean, who had thankfully picked up on what was happening and joined in the banter with a will.

For the rest of the night the Gryffindor boys had discussed the prettiest girls in school. It wasn't something that had never happened before, but now that their personal preferences had been so blatantly revealed the experience turned out to be entirely different. Throughout it all, Harry had worn a slightly perturbed look and Neville had imagined that he could just about see his friend turning the word 'love' over and over in his mind.

"Neville... Neville... NEVILLE!"

"Wha- What?!" He was dragged rather forcefully from his memories by Hermione nearly screaming in his face.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the last several minutes. Just what had you so distracted?"

"Noth-"

"If you try to tell me 'nothing', Neville Longbottom, I shan't be helping you with your homework for the next several weeks."

Neville hesitated for a moment. Even the first-years knew how much he relied on Hermione's help to grasp the work they were given. _But could I ever look Harry or myself in the eye again if rat him out here?_

His resolve would not be tested that day. "Hermione? Neville? Is something wrong?"

Neville jumped nearly a foot in the air upon hearing Harry Potter's voice drifting over to him.

"Harry!" he gasped out in relief, before remembering that relief indicated that there was, in fact, something wrong. Trying to force his voice to sound casual he continued: "Um, I mean: no. Nothing's wrong.

Harry looked as sceptical as Hermione had earlier. "Right..." That emerald gaze thankfully shifted away and focused on Hermione

"Neville was just about to tell me why all of your dorm mates have been staring at me today... and why you've been avoiding me."

"I haven't been avoiding you." Harry protested awkwardly as his eyes drifted up to study one of the paintings that had been hung nearer to the ceiling for lack of space. "Besides, it's nothing."

Hermione looked taken-aback. Neville wondered to himself if she had perhaps been expecting Harry to simply give her a concise and honest answer after all the dodging he himself had done.

"Anyway," Harry continued, painfully obviously changing the subject. "I came up here to find you because supper'll be over soon. I've eaten, but the two of you'll go hungry if you don't shake a leg."

Hermione's glare darted between Harry and Neville as if she couldn't quite decide whom she wanted to be angrier at. In the end she just threw her hands up in the air and marched off, leaving the two boys behind.

As she disappeared around a corner, Neville spoke up nervously. "I wasn't... about to tell her I mean... I wouldn't."

"I know, mate. Thanks." Harry told him with a weary grin. "We really do need to get a move on if you want anything to eat though."

The two boys made their way down to the Great Hall in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts. Neville was mostly preoccupied with how he would fend off Hermione next time, and he was sure that there would be a next time. What Harry was thinking about was anybody's guess.

When they made it to the Hall, Hermione had already seated herself across from Ron. That Harry took a seat beside her was some of the most convincing evidence Neville had yet seen that his friend was a true Gryffindor.

The meal passed in rare and unusual silence, with Neville and Hermione eating and Harry just sipping from his goblet. There was an unusual tension in the air, but Neville couldn't really pin down the source of it as any one particular thing.

Hermione still looked a bit suspicious and Harry was clearly dealing with his discomfort poorly. They'd done that at breakfast too though, even if Hermione probably hadn't been as aware of it at the time, and that meal hadn't felt anything like this did.

As Neville continued to puzzle over what it was that felt so... _off_, the plates cleared themselves and desert was served. Everyone dove for the afters they wanted and when they settled back down Neville took a moment to survey the spoils.

Harry had taken his favourite treacle tart, Hermione some grapes, a piece of cheese that Neville was sure he would never be able to pronounce the name of and some crackers. Next to Neville, Ron had piled his plate high with his usual 'bit of everything'. Looking down at his own custard tart, Neville felt that he'd made out well in the madness that was picking a desert at the Gryffindor table.

He was about to dig in, when something strange caught his attention out of the corner of his eye: Ron was waving his wand over his plate. "What are you doing?" The question was out of Neville's mouth before he could think about it.

Ron looked up for a moment, apparently unhappy that he'd been disturbed. "That greasy bat mentioned giving us a surprise test soon. Knowing him it'd probably be a potion in our deserts. Wouldn't want us to be happy, would he?"

Neville certainly didn't like their Defence Professor and he knew that the feeling was mutual, but he didn't think that Snape was stupid enough to try something in front of all the other teachers. After all, Slughorn would probably be able to fix any poisoning in a jiffy and turn the whole exercise pointless._ I won't deny that I'm happy that Harry taught us the Shield Charm last year though... if the worst Snape does is yell at me that I didn't cast it non-verbally when he inevitably pulls a Moody, I'll call it a good day._

Across the table Harry and Hermione shared a look that seemed to develop into a full-on silent conversation. Neville could guess at the subject: Hermione likely wanted to reprimand Ron for his rather baseless accusation and Harry would want to preserve the peace. He wondered if Harry would have considered the look he was giving Hermione right now staring. If you didn't know the context it would have been easy to suspect that they were simply getting lost in each other's eyes.

Neville blinked as something flickered in his vision. Looking more carefully at the table in front of him, nothing seemed to have changed. _Did I imagine it? Maybe all this thinking about Snape's made me paranoid._

He couldn't shake the feeling that _something _had happened though. While he was trying to figure that out, Harry and Hermione appeared to have come to an agreement and turned back to their respective deserts. They had barely managed to swallow a bite when Ron abruptly leaned forward.

"Harry, what did you call Hermione last night?"

Before the answer came Neville knew what it would be. Harry's face had gone slack, his eyes unfocused and when he spoke it was in that same toneless voice as he had the night before. "The sexiest girl in Hogwarts."

Neville could feel the effect of that statement ripple out from where the four of them were sitting, dropping them into a world of shocked silence. The horror taking over Harry's face was interrupted by the loud slap of Hermione's open hand striking his cheek.

Her face was blotched by her fury and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "That's not funny, Harry Potter," she hissed out before getting up and storming off.

Neville reflected that this was the first time he'd seen Harry looking... well, defeated. In Neville Longbottom's mind, Harry Potter was an indomitable figure; someone who never gave up and kept going until all his friends were in a better place than when he had started out. Hermione's slap-and-exit combo seemed to have knocked all the fight out of the wizarding world's hero though.

Harry looked at his desert as if he was trying to work up an appetite for it and failing miserably. Neville could see the moment that Harry gave up entirely in those green eyes. His friend got up, everything about him still pointing down, and began trudging out of the hall.

Neville watched Harry go, feeling a question burning in his mind. _Why did he say it in the first place? It's not like there was any of that candy near us for him to-_ in a flash of insight it all came together: Ron waving his wand over his plate, the flicker near Harry that could have been from a Switching Spell, Ron's question as soon as Harry had taken a bite, the redhead's mood the night before...

A wave of fury washed over Neville and before he was altogether aware of leaping to his feet, Ron had already been dragged into a half-standing position by the front of the robes. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?!" Neville screamed in his dorm mate's face. "Why the fuck would you do that to your best friends?!"

Ron glared back mulishly and tried to break Neville's hold on his robes. It only resulted in Neville giving him a thorough shake. "Well? Answer me."

"She deserves better than him. Now let go," Ron bit out.

Neville shoved Ron back down onto the bench they'd been sitting on. "Who exactly is supposed to be better for Hermione than Harry? Are we expecting Merlin to wake up sometime soon?"

Ron stayed stubbornly silent, but Neville read the answer in the set of his roommate's shoulders and the scowl he still wore; the same scowl as the night before. "It's you, isn't it? You think you'd be better for Hermione than Harry."

"So? It's not like he's automatically better than me just for being Harry Potter." Ron snarled back.

"You're right, he's not automatically better than you." Neville agreed coldly as he stepped over the bench to leave. "After what you just pulled, it doesn't need to be automatic anymore though, does it?"

He ran out of the Great Hall, hoping that he could still catch up to Harry, leaving Ron to stew in that parting comment. In the Entrance Hall, Neville ran up to the first portrait he could see and barked out: "Which way did Harry Potter go?"

The portrait looked taken aback, but obligingly pointed. Neville tore down the indicated corridor, frantically coming up with and discarding what he would say to his friend when he caught up with him. Needless to say when he came up to Harry, who was moving along the corridor at a dazed stagger, all of Neville's carefully planned openers disappeared from his mind.

"Harry! Wait up!" he called out, as he sprinted the last few metres. The action left him needing a good wheeze before he could speak again. Neville was slightly surprised that Harry was still willing to stop and wait for him after what had just happened.

Finally, Neville had gulped down enough air that he felt like he could function again. "How are you feeling, mate?" As soon as he'd said the words, Neville wished he could claw them back. He didn't need Harry's face crumpling in pain to know that what he'd just asked was stupid. "I mean, it'll be alright," he tried instead.

"I really don't see how, Nev," Harry sighed, turning to trudge down the hall.

Neville hurried to fall into step with his friend. "Look, all we need to do is get Hermione to calm down a little, right?"

"And how is that supposed to happen?" Harry asked, his hand coming up to subconsciously rub at his cheek.

"I'll talk to her!" Neville blurted out. The exclamation was apparently so unexpected that it brought Harry to a halt for a second time. The Boy Who Lived still looked a little uncertain, but Neville could see a fragile spark of hope in his friend's eyes. "I'll talk to her," he repeated. "I'll tell her exactly what happened and that no one was trying to make fun of her."

"I don't-"

Neville wasn't going to let Harry talk him out of this though. He had actually figured out something that might help and he was damn well going to do it. Earlier that evening he had been desperate to keep from getting stuck in an argument between the two people he privately thought of as his greatest friends, but this wasn't being stuck in an argument. This was about helping them get their heads on straight.

"Look, why don't you go find somewhere to wait for us? I promise that as soon as I find her, I'll make Hermione see sense. Just-... it'll be fine, okay? Just trust me."

The gaze that Harry raked him with made Neville wonder if he'd been hit with a spell that had left something on his face. At long last, Harry gave a hesitant nod. "I trust you, Nev."

Neville almost sagged with relief. "Now I just need to find her..." he muttered mostly to himself.

"Try Moaning Myrtle's." Clearly, Harry had heard that. Seeing Neville looking at him, Harry shrugged. "Pretty much nobody goes in there and Myrtle's pretty good about keeping who cries there a secret."

"Okay, I'll try there first. You just get yourself to the point where you can at least smile and tell her that it will all be alright when I bring her over." Neville tried to jumpstart that cheering up by playfully punching Harry in the shoulder and then promptly had to work to keep his gob from dropping open when Harry actually let out a watery chuckle.

"Thanks, Nev. I'm lucky to have a friend like you." Harry turned away and made his way down the corridor, his gait strongly suggesting that the chuckle had been mostly for show. _Bugger, I forgot how much he'll pretend like nothing's wrong when he's hurting. He did that all the time during our DA classes._

Neville shook himself and resolved that he would just have to prove to Harry that his faith in Neville Longbottom wasn't misplaced. Squaring his shoulders, Neville marched towards the stairs, intent on getting to Myrtle's loo as quickly as possible.

In his haste he forgot about one of the trick stairs again and lost valuable time. As a result, when he finally _did _get to the door of the girls' loo, Neville had to take some time to marshal himself. Going in grouchy certainly wouldn't help Harry and Hermione get past what honestly was really only a misunderstanding.

Taking a deep breath, Neville opened the door and stepped inside. "Hermione?" he called out as gently as he could.

"Go away!" It was almost impressive how Hermione could manage to sniffle, mumble and yell all at once. Neville guessed that she had her face buried in her arms; Merlin knew he'd done that often enough at Hogwarts.

"No. I wouldn't be a very good friend if I did that."

"You might have considered that before you decided to make fun of me!" Hermione's voice was thankfully clearer and unfortunately angrier.

"When did I make fun of you?" Neville asked sitting down against the wall opposite the stalls.

"Neville Longbottom, do you honestly expect me to believe that there is no connection between all the Gryffindor boys staring at me and then Harry saying... _that_?! You've been making fun of me all day!" Hermione's last words were almost unintelligible as she started sobbing again.

Neville waited until the sobs had subsided enough that he guessed that Hermione would be able to listen to what he was saying again. "I won't deny that our staring and what Harry said are connected, but nobody was making fun of you," he told her as calmly as he could.

Hermione's breath hitched audibly. "Explain."

Neville shifted a bit to get more comfortable, sure now that he was going to be here for a while. "First thing you need to know is: last night Fred and George gave Ron one of their new prank sweets and refused to tell him what it would do. He, Seamus and Dean were going to try it out on some of the younger students and see what it did, but Harry told them to try it on him. It turns out that the sweet makes you tell the true answer to the first question you're asked."

"Harry wasn't eating a sweet." Hermione bit out, clearly convinced that she was being lied to.

"I'm giving you the full story, Hermione. I can't start at the end." Neville just prayed that she wouldn't call him out for blatantly stealing that line from one of the times he, Ron and Harry had asked her for an explanation about something only to complain about the length of her response.

"Anyway, Ron remembered that Fred had told him to ask a question and then Seamus jumped in with 'who is the sexiest girl in school?'. Harry said your name. Now I won't lie, the lads were really taking the mickey out of him, but Harry shut everyone up by listing off the girls we would have said."

"We asked him how he knew and he told us that he'd noticed us staring. He also explained exactly why he's so attracted to you when we pushed him on it. Trust me, he's not faking that."

"How do you know?"

_It may be my imagination, but I think she just sounded less hostile._ "I know because of the look in his eyes while he was talking about you," Neville shrugged. He toyed with the idea of adding on a description of how devastated Harry had looked after getting slapped, but decided that it would do more harm than good.

"What did he say?" Hermione definitely sounded less hostile than she had when Neville had walked in.

"I'm not telling you." Neville smirked. "You can just ask him that yourself. Besides, I haven't finished telling you what happened."

"Fine," Hermione growled out, making Neville wonder if he hadn't just made a mistake.

"Well, you've probably figured out why we were staring at you today already, but I'll just say it: after hearing Harry talk like that, I wanted to look at you and see just a bit of what he sees. I can't swear that the rest thought the same thing, but if they were staring too I'd guess it's likely."

Neville waited for a moment to see if Hermione would react, but all remained quiet behind the stall doors. "Tonight at dinner, well, near as I can tell Ron decided to set Harry up. He did something to add the sweet to a slice of treacle tart on his own plate and then used a Switching Spell to put it on Harry's plate. I saw the flicker, but I didn't figure it out until it was too late."

"Why would Ron do that?" Hermione asked, her mind clearly already racing.

"He said that Harry wasn't good enough for you." Neville offered apologetically. "He was acting out of sorts last night as well after we heard Harry's answer. I think he was trying to out Harry so you would react like... well, like you did."

"But-... but why?" Hermione sounded more lost than Neville had ever heard her. "Why would Ron think that Harry wasn't good enough for me?"

Neville took a moment to make sure that he didn't sound in any way smug; Hermione certainly wasn't acting like _she _thought Harry wasn't good enough. "Look, anything I tell you will just be a guess, Hermione..."

Hermione hesitated for a moment. "What's your guess?"

"I think that Ron heard what Harry said, same as the rest of us, and realized something. I think that he decided that he agreed with Harry and wanted a shot as well; a shot that would require taking out a rival."

"Ron wouldn't do that!" Hermione immediately protested.

Neville held up his hands in surrender before realizing that Hermione wouldn't be able to see it. "I told you it was just a guess, Hermione. You can always ask Ron yourself why he did it, 'cause he certainly didn't deny that it was him."

Neville sat there in silence for several minutes, letting Hermione work through everything he'd just dropped on her. In the end though, his promise to Harry forced him to speak up again. "Hermione? Think you could open the door? Only, it's rather odd to be talking to a toilet stall."

It stayed quiet for several more heartbeats and then Neville heard a click and the second to last stall opened to reveal a dishevelled Hermione. Neville just smiled at her and got up brushing his robes off. "Do you think you're up to seeing Harry yet? If not, we can spend some more time just talking, you know?"

"Hmmph, who's to say that you aren't doing the same thing you're accusing Ron of doing." Hermione demanded with crossed arms and narrowed eyes.

Neville hid his nervousness as best he could and kept his grin firmly in place. "Nah. While I definitely think that Harry's on to something, I also think that's just as true for what he said about the girl whose name I'd have said in that situation."

Hermione's stance relaxed somewhat. "Oh? And who might that be?"

"Hannah Abbott," Neville answered, feeling his heart flutter as it always did at the mention of the pretty, blonde Hufflepuff. Normally he might not have dared answer so honestly, but Hermione was about as likely as Harry was to gossip about this sort of thing.

Hermione looked at him for a moment before shaking her head with a slight smile. "Alright. I believe that look."

Neville blushed despite himself, causing Hermione to giggle. "Does that mean you're ready to go find Harry?" he asked, hoping to distract from his embarrassment.

Hermione crumpled in on herself a little. "Neville, I can't. I mean, I was awful to him and I look a fright. My hair's a mess, my face is blotchy and eyes are red."

Neville cocked an eyebrow. This was more concern for her appearance than he'd ever heard from Hermione. _Hermione Granger wanting to pretty herself up for a boy... that's a first. This evening may have an unexpectedly happy ending after all._ "Hermione, I don't think I'm betraying any secrets when I say that 'spends ages on how she looks' wasn't on Harry's list of reasons for being attracted to you."

Hermione gave him a look that verged on a smile. "All the same, I should like to present him with a face that will give _me _some confidence and a chance to say something before he starts fretting."

Neville shrugged equanimously. "If you're sure."

"I am. Now go and let a girl cast her charms in peace."

"I'll wait outside," he smiled. _And spend the mean time thanking my lucky stars that I actually pulled this off. _

Neville didn't have to wait as long as he had feared he might have to. Within five minutes, Hermione was out of the bathroom and Neville couldn't stop his eyes from roving over her. As soon as he realised what he was doing, he jerked his eyes up to Hermione's face where he was met with an indulgently affectionate expression.

"You know, that's a lot easier to put up with now that I know what's behind it." Hermione remarked cheekily causing Neville to blush. "Where did you and Harry agree to meet once you'd gotten me?"

"Um... well, we didn't. I just told him I'd look for you and that we'd find him afterward."

Hermione bit at her lower lip and her eyes slid out of focus for a moment. "He'll be down by the Black Lake then."

"How do you do that?" Neville wondered out loud, almost biting off the tip of his tongue as his jaw snapped shut in shock at his own daring. "I'm sorry! I don't know what's gotten into me today, but I can't seem to stop blurting things out."

Hermione let out a musical laugh. "It's fine, Neville, but surely trying to guess where Harry might be isn't that impressive?"

"Hmph, you say that now, but somehow I just know that we're going to find him right where your first guess was. He picked out where you would be hiding right away too." Neville muttered as he started walking to cover his embarrassment.

Hermione fell into step beside him. "Was Harry looking at anything when he told you where I was?"

"No. Why?"

"No reason."

Neville knew that he was being fobbed off. It had happened to him often enough in his time at Hogwarts, but not usually at the hands of Harry or Hermione. Neville was surprised to find that it hurt a lot more when one of them did it than when anyone else did.

"I'm sorry, Neville. I don't mean to tease you, but it's not my secret to tell." Apparently, Hermione was easily able to read his thoughts off his face.

"It's fine."

"No, it isn't, but I'll ask Harry if I can tell you."

It didn't make sense to Neville, but he felt unaccountably better at that reassurance. Intellectually he knew that Hermione hadn't really promised him any kind of result, but the fact that she was willing to try and make him feel better counted for a lot.

The two Gryffindors came to the main stairwell and Neville hesitated for a moment. "I guess I'll head back to the common room from here and let the two of you have some privacy," he murmured awkwardly.

Surprisingly, Hermione didn't respond immediately. "I- a part of me wants you there; as a shield as much as anything else," she admitted in a low voice. "Another part of me knows that privacy would probably go a long way towards figuring this out."

Neville was content to let Hermione work through her thoughts, but was left blinking in surprise when a pair of gentle lips touched his cheek. "Thank you, Neville. You really are a brilliant friend and I'm lucky to have you."

Before he'd fully recovered, Hermione had already disappeared down the stairs. _Both of them... they both said that they felt they were lucky to be my friend_. From the day he'd started Hogwarts to this, Neville had never expected anyone to say that to him. He was barely aware of his feet carrying him back to Gryffindor Tower, lost in thoughts of how his life had changed over the past six years.

Not wanting to put up with the clamour and chaos of the common room just yet, he ducked into an empty classroom and sat down on the sill of one of the windows. Below him he could see the castle grounds stretching out and let the familiar sight steady him.

The cold of the stones had thoroughly seeped into his bones before Neville wondered if it wasn't time that he made his way to his bed. Darting one last look out of the window, he froze. Below him a pair of wand lights were glimmering near the shores of the Black Lake. Panic gripped his heart as he wondered if Death Eaters had finally come back to Hogwarts.

Neville wracked his brains for the name of that elf that had helped Harry with the DA lessons. "Dobby!" he cried out in relief when he remembered it.

The elf appeared before him and eyed him suspiciously. "Why is Harry Potter's Nev, Sir, calling for Dobby?"

"Dobby, there are some people sneaking around on the grounds down there. Can you get me Harry's omnioculars so we can see what they're doing?"

Dobby immediately began shaking his head, looking angrier than any other elf Neville had ever seen. "Dobby will not! Dobby will not help any wizard spy on the Great Harry Potter and his miss!"

"That's Harry and Hermione down there?" Neville interrupted, shock warring with relief inside of him.

Dobby glared at him mistrustfully. "Dobby will not betray Harry Potter's secrets to a spy."

Neville began to grin as he took the elf's words as confirmation. "If they're still down there, everything must have gone well... I'm off to bed, Dobby. You just keep an eye on them; just in case, yeah?" He didn't wait for Dobby's response and never saw the elf's confused expression.

Neville was so buoyed by the news that his friends had reconciled that he almost skipped on his way back to Gryffindor Tower. His entrance into the common room was met with an enough curious glances that Neville knew the gossips would start circling soon. He decided to cut them off at the pass and headed straight up to bed.

Knowing that Seamus and Dean could be as bad as anyone when it came to finding a scoop they could spread through the school and not wanting to face Ron before having a chance to talk to Harry and Hermione, Neville pulled the curtains of his four-poster closed. He felt far too keyed up to sleep, but seven minutes later he was snoring away with a happy grin plastered on his face.

:-:-:-:-:

When Neville woke up the next morning, the events of the day before seemed nothing so much as a mad dream. That was until he met Harry and Hermione in the Great Hall.

The two had a reputation for being close, but Neville couldn't recall them practically sitting in each other's laps at breakfast before. The fact that he couldn't see Harry's left or Hermione's right hand anywhere told him that they were probably holding each other beneath the table.

Grinning like a loon he dropped onto the bench across from them. "Morning, you two. You're up early."

Both of his friends smiled at him, though Neville would have been prepared to believe anyone who told him that they simply hadn't managed to change that expression since making up the night before. "Hey, Nev," Harry returned his greeting happily. "Are you sure you're not just up late?"

"Pretty sure the two of you were the ones up late," Neville retorted, waggling his eyebrows at the couple. The two grins across from him only stretching wider in response told him that he had hit it on the nose. "You gonna share?"

"Nothing sordid happened, Neville," Hermione scolded with nothing that even slightly approached the force she might otherwise have put into a reprimand.

"I didn't say it did," he retorted. "Thinking something dirty, Hermione?"

"Not at all," she answered dismissively, a deep blush ruining the airy effect she was going for. "Harry and I talked and-... he agreed to take me to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"Well, 'bout time you two got around to it," Neville shrugged playfully.

Harry looked happier and prouder than any of the times he'd won the Quidditch Cup. "Guess we needed your help for this to happen, mate. We owe you one," the wizard Neville held in higher esteem than any other told him.

"You don't-" Neville began, only to be cut off.

"We do," Hermione broke in tersely. "Right now though, I think it's time we turned this into a picnic." Her glare at the doors to the Great Hall told Neville all he needed to know.

"Um, I'm not against that in principle," he allowed tentatively, "but you do realise it's November and we're in Scotland, right?"

"C'mon, Nev," Harry urged as he packed several sandwiches into a serviette, "are you a member of the DA or not?"

It took Neville less than two seconds to figure out what Harry was suggesting: _the Room of Requirement! Of course! _"On second thought, I'd love to join you."

Ron had taken great pains not to seat himself anywhere near the other two members of the Golden Trio, but Harry and Hermione seemed determined to not even eat in the same room as their friend anymore.

That they were taking Neville with them instead of Ron was a little nerve-wracking for the most timid of the Gryffindor sixth years, but he found that he was looking forward to this. The morning promised to be full of conversation and Neville resolved that he would keep anything he heard a secret.

He was certainly aware that being the only one to talk to what was about to become Hogwarts' Power Couple would lead to a lot of people badgering him for gossip, but he was someone Harry and Hermione considered themselves lucky to be friends with. _Someone like that can take a few gossips on, no problem_ Neville reminded himself, unaware that the steel in his gaze was doing funny things to the insides of a certain blonde Hufflepuff as he left the Great Hall with his friends.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**AN:** I hope you enjoyed this little dive into Neville's mind. I was really pleased when I started writing this and realized after a few lines that I was writing from his perspective. I hadn't done that before and it gave this fic the spark I needed to see it through to the end.

I'll see you at the next one. Until then, happy reading.

LeQuin


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